Faucet.



J. H. GLAUBER.

FAUOET.

APPLICATION FILED 001217, 1904.

Patented July 20, 1909.

W! T NESSES INVENTOR. c as oh H,G-La ubh ATTORNEY.

ANDREW. B. mum! on FHOYOLITHOGRAPNiRG. WAMNGYON a c4 JOSEPH H. GLAUBER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

FAUCET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 20, 1909.

Application filed October 17, 1904. Serial No. 228,743.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH H. GLAUBER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Faucets, and do declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in faucets, and the improvement a plies more particularly to the so-called Fu ler bibs or cocks wherein a ball valve is used which is held in a right angled working relation to the crank stem.

The object of the improvement is to provide afaucet of this kind with means whereby the tendency to wear about the top of the controlling stem and in the gland inside is overcome and avoided and a construction provided which will endure for an indefinite and prolonged period of service without leaking or becoming impaired by wear and tear in its contact surfaces.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a vertical sectional elevation of a Fuller bib or faucet embodying my improvement, and Fig. 2 is a modification thereof. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the body of the faucet shown in Fig. 2 and taken at right angles to said figure, but showing the operating stem in a reversed position and as it appears when the valve is closed and as viewed from the discharge or spout end.

As thus shown A represents the body of the faucet and B the usual ball valve therein which is adapted to seat and close the main water passage intermediate of the crank operating stem and the pressure intake end.

O is the cap on the tubular externally threaded barrel shaped extension a on the top of body A adapted to support the crank stem D and which is connected with valve B by means of an arm or reach E having a vertically bored end ada )ted to sleeve upon and make a relatively cfose fit with the lower crank end of stem D, substantially as shown in Figs. 1 and. 2. Handle H controls stem D and in their general and broader aspects these arts are old and well known. S ecially, however, and somewhat specifical y there is novelty in the way stem D is sustained in its working position in the barrel a upon the top of body A, and the intent of such novelty is to produce a construction in which the stem D is relieved from the tendency to tilt at its top when the handle is operated and thus prevent wearing in the neck of cap 0 and a leaky condition. This tilting and wear is largely due to the peculiar construction of the faucet described and wherein the down pressure of the hand in opening and closing operation brings a tilting strain upon the stem because of the one sided handle H. It is also a common practice to hang the water receiving vessel upon handle II and this also causes the stem to tilt in its bearings and bring side strain thereon which eventually show its bad effects by wear and leakage. Then because of the peculiar angular relation of the valve member with the crank stem and its sleeved connection therewith, a further objectionable result is noticed in the wear upon the valve itself and in its unequal seating, because any tilting out of the vertical of stem D is manifested in a somewhat similar degree in the valve itself which is then inclined and out of true axial alinement with the water passage and valve seat.

Strain and wear is also brought in this manner upon the crank end and sleeved connection for the valve member and this still further augments conditions to bring about leakage in the faucet both when the valve is open and closed.

Of course when the valve is closed there is no liquid in the outer draft space, but when 'the valve is opened there comes a back pressure into the body of the faucet by reason of the relatively small outlet therefrom which has a tendency to produce a back pressure from which the liquid seeks an outlet about stem D. A little looseness about said. stem or the usual packing therein, such as a more or less solid gland, will therefore be manifest when water creeps out through the neck of cap O, and as the said cap gets worn larger under the side pressure and grinding action of the stem and the parts within become more or less worn the volume of liquid escaping in this way becomes larger and larger and increasingly objectionable. Now, I have sought to remedy this inherent defect in faucets by providing a construction where by stem D is held centrally and vertically in respect to the barrel and cap C and whereby undue side bearing at the top is overcome or prevented and especially when the faucet is being used. To this end I provide the base of a barrel a with a distinct annular seat, ledge, or shoulder a, and the stem D with a fixed collar (1 in Fig. 1, and a in Figs. 2 and 3, and which collar is provided with a finished bottom adapted to rest fiush and water tight on said seat a. Above this fixed collar I employ a suitable packing ring d of lead or other material and over this I place a loose ring (1 adapted to confine said packing material and take the down pressure of a spiral spring G which is interposed about stein D between cap C and said ring d Spring G is of such length and under such tension that it not only keeps the packing compressed about the stem but also holds the fixed collar 011 the stem uniformly flush upon its seat at all times and which keeps the said stem standing vertically upright and serves to offset tilting strains and thereby eliminating side friction in the cap and about the opening in shoulder a and consequent wearing away of parts both in the body parts of the faucet and the valve which heretofore have produced a leaky condition. Neither is there the liability for the liquid or water to work up into barrel (1 as formerly because of the broad seating base a on which the bottom of the fixed collar upon stem D is adapted to bear and because of its being constantly held down to working position by spring G with water tight effect. Again, by this construction a positively straight back and forth horizontal movement of valve B is assured at all times because there is no tilting of the stem D to incline the valve arm or reach E and valve B, and this is one of the important advantages of the invention which contributes to making a durable and lasting faucet. An incidental effect of this arrangement of parts is that spring G serves as a lock for screw cap C, and it will be noted especially that the fixed collar upon the stem D bears directly upon the seat a and prevents any down movement of the stem axially within barrel a and any shift or change in its connected relations with arm or reach E of valve B. In other words, no sliding or axial movement of stem D in its bearings can be brought about by down pressure upon handle H, and no wear upon the stem or its bearings can by that reason occur.

Now as to the modification of the faucet shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the same relative arrangement and construction is observed therein as in Fig. 1, except that the stem D is supplemented by cam means to compress down spring G and more tightly seat the fixed collar of stem D upon seat a and more effectually hold the stem upright and close all egress of the water through barrel (L when the valve is in open position and during the time when back pressure occurs while the water is fiowing. To this end, I mount a loose collar a immediately above fixed collar a and provide each with oppositely inclined meeting surfaces of cam pattern which separate the two collars when stem D is rotated by shifting handle H from front to rear. Loose collar a is slidably mounted in respect to stem D and barrel (1 but does not rotate, and the packing material in this case rests upon said loose collar and not upon fixed collar a, but compression of spring G is nevertheless to all intents and purposes the same as in the construction shown in Fig. 1.

That I claim is 1. A faucet comprising a body having a main water passage with a valve seat at its intake end, a ball valve opposite said seat and an arm for said valve having an open end adapted to engage a crank stem, a threaded barrel shaped extension on said body at right angles to the water passage therein, a screw cap for said extension, a crank stem mounted centrally within said cap and within said body at the base of said barrel extension and engaged with said open end of said valve arm and having a handle at its outer end, a fixed collar on said stern and a seat therefor on said body within said barrel extension, a packing ring above said collar, and a coiled compression spring comprising a series of coils of the requisite length and tension about said stem between said cap and said ring adapted to keep the packing compressed about the stem and to hold the fixed collar thereof flush upon its seat with water tight effect and adapted to hold the stem in fixed and centrally alined relationship with said body extension and its cap and the valve arm and to offset tilting strains and prevent side friction and wear upon all said parts.

2. In faucets, a body having a barrel shaped extension on its top, said extension provided with an annular seat at its bottom, in combination with a valve and a controlling stem therefor projecting through said extension and having a fixed cam shaped collar about its outside, a loose cam shaped ring about said stem next to said collar, packing about said stem, a cap on said extension, and a spiral spring interposed between said cap and the packing and said loose ring to hold. said fixed collar upon its seat and to prevent tilting of said stem.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH H. GLAUBER. Witnesses:

R. B. MosER, C. A. SELL. 

